The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) accredits
medical societies and other organization to provide post-residency ongoing
education. These organizations must submit educational objectives and the
educational program must be approved before CME credits are given. The American
Medical Association determines the type or category of credit.

The CME provider will provide written verification of participation in a CME
activity. You may claim only the number of credits/hours in which you
actually participated in that activity. You may need to request this
information (written verification) from the CME provider.

It is the responsibility of the diplomate to provide documentation
directly to the ABOS office in the application process for MOC. It
is NOT the CME provider responsibility to relate this information. The
ABOS website will have detailed instructions as to how this information is to be
submitted.

The MOC process requires documentation of a minimum of 20 credits of Category
1 CME credits obtained for completion and scoring of
self-assessment examinations (SAE) during a three-year cycle. The SAEs have no
pass or fail grade. The SAE will be scored and returned confidentially to you.
The results of your SAE should help direct your study plan as part of your
personal QI program. You must provide only the documentation that you have
completed and returned for scoring the required number of SAE credits.

Yes, a minimum of 20 credits from SAE activity must be included as part of
your 120 credits of CME. There is no maximum or upper limit of credits from SAE
activity or for CME activity. It is expected that the SAE will help direct the
diplomate toward areas of study that will lead to professional improvement.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Society for
Surgery of the Hand, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and other ABOS approved self-assessment
instruments are available through which this requirement may be fulfilled. The
SAE must be topical to orthopaedics and/or the subspecialty of orthopaedic
surgery practiced by the diplomate. The minimum number of credits per exam must
be ten. (See
Answer 8 for more information.)